Computer Discount Warehouse: Sending to 6+ Year Closed Role Address
Computer and software retailer Computer Discount Warehouse (CDW) is sending bulk email to a role address closed in 2005. Although it never sent email or signed onto lists, this particular role address receives a great deal of snowshoe spam and a respectable amount of mainsleaze spam. This is probably the case because it doesn’t have a standard role address name and is therefore rarely suppressed or detected by the usual sanity checking routines at ESPs. The ESP is ExactTarget.
Sending IP: 68.232.199.8
Spam Sample:
Actual Headers:
Received: from mta.cdwemail.com (mta.cdwemail.com [68.232.199.8])
by <xxx> (Postfix) with ESMTP id <xxx>
for <xxx>; Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:xx:xx -0600 (CST)
DKIM-Signature: <xxx>
DomainKey-Signature: <xxx>
Received: by mta.cdwemail.com (PowerMTA(TM) v3.5r16) id <xxx>
for <xxx>; Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:xx:xx -0600
(envelope-from <bounce-<xxx>@bounce.cdwemail.com>)
From: "CDW-G" <subscriptions@cdwemail.com>
To: <xxx>
Subject: StateTech E-newsletter: Focus on Consolidation Strategies
Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:xx:xx -0600
List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:leave-<xxx>@leave.cdwemail.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Reply-To: "CDW" <reply-<xxx>@cdwemail.com>
x-job: <xxx>
Message-ID: <xxx>
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
boundary="<xxx>"
Readable Email:
From: CDW-G <subscriptions@cdwemail.com>
To: <spamtrap>
Subject: StateTech E-newsletter: Focus on Consolidation Strategies
Reply-To: CDW <reply-<xxx>@cdwemail.com>
————————————————————
January 2012
Update subscription
http://click.cdwemail.com/?<xxx>
Unsubscribe
http://click.cdwemail.com/?<xxx>
Forward to a friend:
http://click.cdwemail.com/?<xxx>
Case Study
Server Virtualization Serves Up Savings
IT managers in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia and Wisconsin say server virtualization cuts costs, improves overall management and lets them run greener operations:
http://click.cdwemail.com/?<xxx>
<removed>
This e-mail is intended for the purposes of researching or purchasing products offered for sale by CDW-G.
All information is subject to CDW-G’s terms, conditions and policies. <xxx>
Copyright 2012 CDW Government LLC, 230 North Milwaukee Avenue, Vernon Hills, IL 60061; 800.808.4239
Many months later, Computer Discount Warehouse (CDW) is still sending weekly emails to this closed role address. The address cannot have responded to an email in over seven years (now) and bounced all email for a period of three of those years. This closed role address spamtrap is the poster child for the sort of email address that a properly managed bulk email program would have dropped from its list years ago.
CDW is a reputable company. I do business with them myself, have for years, and have been happy with their prices and service. They need to turn a little of the mojo that they put into managing their retail business towards their online marketing, however. If they’re hitting a spamtrap of mine, they’re probably hitting others. That isn’t healthy these days; a couple of those spamtraps could be at a major blacklist or reputation service.